Improvement in sleigh-knees



' Sleigh-Knee.

Paten tgd July 10. 1866.

Witnesses= lnvehton AM.FHOTOLITHO. CO. NA. (OSHORNE'S PROCESS.)

2 ShetsSheet 2.

H. FRANCISCO.

Sleigh-Knee.

Patented July 10. 1866.

iii/III Inventor:

AMPHDTO LITHD. 00. NY (DSE'JRNE'S PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENTIQFEIQEAM MARY E. FRANCISCO, (ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF HENRY FRANOISOO,) 'OF LAKE MILLS, VVISOONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT lN SLElGH-KNEES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,334, dated July 10, 1866.

full, clear, and exact description of said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in Which Figure 1 is a side elevation of theimproved sleigh-knee applied to the runner and a portion of the body of a sleigh. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. Sis alongitudinal section taken in a Vertical plane through Fig. 1. Fig. at is a section taken in a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 3. Fig. 5- is a top view of the improved sleigh-knee.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to a novel mode of constructing those portions of a sleigh which are interposed between the runners and the body of the sleigh, and commonly termed sleigh knees or standards. v

It is very important to secure a firm and substantial connection of the runners of bobsleighs to the bodies of the sleighs, and at the same time to obtain the required cant or inclination of the runners. This cannot be done successfully or cheaply with wooden knees, as they require to be large and clumsy in order to afford the required strength and hearing which are necessary to sustain a heavily-loaded sleigh, and as everything which is below the body of a sleigh will tend to impede its passage through the snow, it is desirable to construct sleigh-knees of cast metal in such manner as to afford the greatest strength in the leastamount of space.

To this end the nature of this invention consists in forming hollow cast-metal knees for sleighs with their ends terminating in elongated bracket supports or bearings adapted to receive thecross-bars and runners of a sleigh, and to serve, in conjunction with bolts, to connect these parts together rigidly and permanently, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand the invention of HENRY FRANCISCO, I 7111 describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings one of theimproved sleigh-knees is represented applied to a portion of the run nerA and cross-beamB of a sleigh. The plank O is a portion of the flooring' or sleigh-guard. This will fully illustrate the method of using the'knees and the necessity for constructing them of the peculiar shape represented.

The central portion, a, of the slei gh-knee may be made cylindrical, its ends flaring outward, so as to form a bracket-shaped bearing, 1), and a corresponding shaped support, 0.

The knee is made hollow for the purpose of admitting of a bolt, 0, through it, which bolt passes up through the runner A, cross-beam B, and guard-plank (J, and ties the whole firmly together. This knee is also made hollow, for the purpose of affording lightness.

The edges of the hollow bearing-portions Z) and c are made at right angles to each other. for the purpose of receiving the runners and the beams of the sleigh-body, which parts are at right angles to each other. The upper and lower edges of the sleigh-knee are formed so as to receive said runners and beams and to allow them to rest firmly against the thickened ends g g h h of the portions b 0, through which ends holes are formed to receive bolts D D and E E, for holding these ends in their places upon their respective beams, as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 1, 3, and

At that the flanges of the bracket-bearing Z) enter grooves in the cross-beam B, and that the flanges of the bearing 0 extend over the edges of the runner A, thus preventing snow or water from getting within the knee.

Another important feature of the improved knees is that they are formed so as to give the required cant to the runners, when applied to the sleigh, without the necessity of cutting away the wood of the sleigh-beams to fit the parts to the knees. This cant or inclination is shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and it is obtained by giving the peculiar angle to the upper bearing-surfaces or end of the bracket Z).

One great advantage of constructing sleighknees of east-iron, or, what is still more pref- A hollow cast-metal sleigh-knee which is constructed with bracket-beari'n gs on its ends, having closed sides, adapted to receive the frame-work of a sleigh, substantially as herein described. 1

MARY E. FRANCISCO, Administrat'rix of Henry Francisco.

Witnesses FRANK ANDERSON, A. M. HURD. 

